Dusten Brown Turns Himself Into Authorities

A statement from Sheriff Lockhart to KWGS News on what took place this morning.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The father of a Cherokee Indian girl at the center of an adoption dispute has turned himself in to authorities but refused extradition to South Carolina.

Sequoyah County Sheriff Ron Lockhart says Dusten Brown turned himself in about 10 a.m. and appeared before a judge but refused extradition without a governor's warrant.

Brown was charged over the weekend with custodial interference after failing to appear at a court-ordered meeting in South Carolina.

A couple there has been trying to adopt 3-year-old Veronica. She is with her paternal grandparents and Dusten Brown's wife.

The Indian Child Welfare Act favors a Native American child living with his or her extended family or other tribal members over non-Native Americans, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the law does not apply in this case.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Assistant Cherokee Attorney General Chrissi Ross Nimmo confirms to reporters Brown has turned himself into authorities.